a girl who loves her dog, traveling, food, and writing.

Tag: prolactinoma

Kind of sad to say goodbye to October- it wasn’t a very festive Halloween for me, as I had class ALL DAY LONG (and night), so that was a bummer. But, I told myself next year I am definitely dressing up (already have a costume in mind) and I’m going to be more festive! Life is too short not to be. Right?

November is going to be a great month! First off, it’s my TWO YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF BLOGGING (yay! blog post coming soon), my furbaby Lola Mae is turning 9 years old, and it’ll be Thanksgiving!

What have I been up to? Well ten days ago, I started this program called WHOLE 30. I am not sponsored, I just wanted to tell you my experience. If you have no idea what Whole 30 is, or what I’m talking about- I highly suggest you googling it & going on the website. CLICK HERE TO SEE WHAT IT IS.

I’ve cut out alcohol, grains, sugar, legumes, dairy, and soy products. It’s been HARD. I have 20 days left, which leaves me literally right before Thanksgiving day. Eeek! If you’ve been following my blog for awhile, you would know that I have Prolactinoma & that I struggle with losing weight. It’s almost impossible to lose 1 pound. So- I thought I would give this a shot. I’ve never cut anything out of my diet before, so I am eager to see how my body will do. Ten days in and I’m still trying to get over the hump of my body adjusting. I have cravings, but I’m staying strong. If anyone has done this before, I’d love to know your story! I will come back and tell you how much weight I lost/how I feel after my 30 days are complete. We aren’t supposed to step on the scale- but I have and I already lost 4 lbs. YES!! So that’s amazing to know, and I’m super motivated.

The title truly says it all. I’ve been really feeling low these past couple days.

I have been dealing with my prolactinoma, and all the bullshit that comes with it. If you’re a new reader, I have prolactinoma, a small benign tumor on my pituitary gland. I have gained more than 45 lbs I’m unable to lose any of it. I am on medication (Cabergoline 1/2 pill, 4 times a week) and with this medication comes horrible side effects. Some of the things I deal with while being on this medication is: nausea, headache, dizziness, and extreme fatigue. It’s not fun.

But going back to the weight gain… I have been working out consistently, watching what I eat, and I am unable to lose any weight. It’s extremely frustrating. There are moments where I just need to take a moment for myself and just cry. I’ve sobbed on the phone to my mom about how much I wish I didn’t have prolactinoma, how much I want to feel beautiful and comfortable in my own skin… it’s heartbreaking.

I try hard to be positive, but it’s very hard. VERY HARD. I don’t know anyone in my life who has prolactinoma. Luckily, I have talked to a few other women through social media (thank goodness for that) & that’s been so nice hearing their stories. Sometimes I just need a place to write down my thoughts, a place to vent. This is why I love blogging.

I hope one day I can have all of these hard times behind me, and I will feel good about myself, inside and out. Health is so important, and until you’re going through something– you can easily take it for granted. So to everyone out there that isn’t struggling with health problems or weight loss issues, be thankful. It is truly taking a toll on me mentally, I’m just so tired of feeling shitty and feeling shitty about myself.

Hey everyone! Happy March, I can’t believe we are already three months into 2016, how crazy is that? I also cannot believe I’ve been working out for 2 whole months, consistently. I am so proud of myself! I do have some updates for you!

First off, I bought a scale. I didn’t want to, BUT I thought it was important to keep track of my weight loss. I also started counting calories! I definitely have my cheat days, because I do NOT believe in depriving yourself. I mean, lets face it, I’m a foodie! There is no way in HELL I’m not going to eat pizza, drink boba, etc. It’s all about moderation. So if you are wondering how I keep track of counting my calories there is an iPhone app that I use called ‘MyFitnessPal’ I’m pretty sure it’s free, and it makes this process so much easier. All you have to do is put in your weight, height, your goal weight and how much weight you want to lose per week (i put 2 lbs/week). It calculates how many calories you can eat per day. It’s awesome! I definitely recommend it.

So with that said, I’ve been counting calories for a week and a half only. When I first weighed myself, I was at a whopping 165 even. It is the heaviest I have ever been in my life. Remember, I’m 5’2. But, I weighed myself this past Monday and I am now at 163.6! YES! PROGRESS! It’s the little goals that mean the most to me. Little accomplishments that will lead me to my big goal! So, my goal weight is to be 120 lbs. I have a long way to go, and it’s going to take a lot of determination, motivation and a lot of self-discipline. I’ve come this far, and I’m not stopping now.

I have been taking my prolactinoma pills for five months the 17th. I finally think they are starting to kick in! I hope this helps with the weight loss, I’ve heard people who take cabergoline do tend to see results around 3-6 months in. SO FINGERS CROSSED. Anyway, I hope on my three month update I would have lost a good amount of weight (hopefully 10 lbs).

I hope you all have a good night. I’m looking forward to my weigh-in this upcoming Monday. If you’re currently trying to find motivation to lose weight, eat healthier, or work out in general- reach deep. You can DO IT! Make 2016 your year!

I have officially been working out consistently for ONE MONTH! I’ve been trying to drink more water, and track all of my workouts in a journal. I write down how long I worked out for, and how many calories I burned; the reason I do this is to visually see how many days I work out for and if I’m meeting my goals. I have a polar heart monitor and chest strap that I got from Amazon, if you’re interested here is the link. I definitely recommend this heart monitor if you want to keep track of the calories you’re burning. It has worked wonderfully for me.

Here is what it looks like after a workout:

The reason for this post is to keep my motivation up! Since gaining so much weight, and being diagnosed with Prolactinoma, I’m trying really hard to lose 40-45 lbs! I know it’s going to be a long journey, but I am so ready to be comfortable in my own skin again. I made a goal of working out 3-5 days a week, and so far I have met my goals.

ONE MONTH DOWN! I plan to keep updates, maybe take some pictures of progress. For now I do not own a scale, but maybe two months from now I’ll buy one. Hope this inspires someone who also wants to lose weight and be healthier.

I’m so excited for the new year. 2015 wasn’t the best year for me, there were a lot of struggles and I’m looking to a new fresh start. Some of my new year goals- or resolutions- are to start working out again/getting healthy. I know, I know, a lot of people say this: but hear me out…
In October, after many blood tests, and finally an MRI, I was diagnosed with Prolactinoma. It means I have a small benign tumor on my pituitary gland (in my brain). I had been dealing with so many health issues [extreme weight gain, depression, anxiety, irregular periods, fatigue, acne, and more] for YEARS prior I was actually diagnosed Oct. of 2015. I was ultimately prescribed medication right away, for my tumor to shrink and my prolactin levels to come down. Since my prolactin levels were so high, it was causing me not to have regular periods. I didn’t have my period for months at a time, and the longest time of not having my period was 7 months! After being on this medication for 2 and a half months, I finally got my period. With that being said, another huge problem for me (and that I’ve been struggling with since getting sick) is not being able to lose any weight. I gained so much weight in the past 3 years due to my health problems, and there wasn’t anything I could do to lose it (since my hormones were all jacked up). So now that I KNOW what’s wrong with me, I should now be able to lose all the weight I gained a lot easier! It has been the biggest struggle these past years (especially in 2015 because I was working my ass out, and couldn’t drop a single pound).
I’m determined more than ever to get my life back on track. Only being 5 foot 2 inches, I need to drop about 30-40 pounds, to be healthy and feel more confident. This will be one of my biggest goals in 2016.

Not only do I want to be healthier, but I want to TRAVEL. I feel the happiest when I’m out exploring new places, eating new food, and can check those places off my wishlist. My goal is to go on at least 2 vacations this year. I love weekend getaways; this past October, Dexter and I went to Seattle just for the weekend and it was so much fun! I’d love to go on a “real” vacation for a week, and maybe one weekend getaway this year. Fingers crossed. I want to go to Hawaii again, I’d love to go to Boston, Chicago, South Carolina, or Maine!

What are some of your goals? Happy New Year! Let’s make 2016 a great one!

(San Francisco, top of Russian Hill celebrating our 5th New Years together)